The texture was poor, the taste was bad, and the nutrition was lacking. Aside from scraping her throat, she really couldn’t name a single merit.
She glanced at Tang Yuan, who somehow miraculously understood her meaning and said to General Wei, “General, go ahead and attend to your duties. We’ll just wander around on our own.”
“Yes.”
Tang Yuan followed Shen Yunyun as they left, and Wei Min respectfully saw them off.
Doctor Zhou and Doctor Zheng were both very curious and asked, “General, who are those two?”
Wei Min looked at them and said, “They’re people neither you nor I can afford to offend. Mind your attitudes.”
The two exchanged another glance. So, they were big shots even the general couldn’t provoke?
They must be important figures from the capital—only a handful of people outranked the general.
Indeed, neither of them could afford to cross them.
Shen Yunyun led Tang Yuan into the forest opposite where they had stored the supplies. Using her optical scanner, she confirmed there was no one nearby, not even a wild beast. Only then did she turn to Tang Yuan and ask:
“Why does the army have no food? As the ruler of the nation, shouldn’t you have planned ahead and sent supplies sooner? The northern frontier is freezing cold—it’s not like you’re learning this for the first time. How could such a blunder happen?”
Tang Yuan looked like a child who had done something wrong. “The military grain we had gathered was about to be shipped when the Northern Yan envoy suddenly arrived, claiming they hadn’t received the tribute grain we sent earlier. They massed their troops at the border, and we had no choice but to divert the military grain. Later, when we finally gathered more grain, an unexpected heavy snowstorm hit, and the supplies were stranded on the road…”
Shen Yunyun: “…”
So, being this emperor was truly stifling.
It wasn’t hard to understand, really—weak nations have no diplomacy.
Back in the day, when a country’s diplomat was forced to jump into a river and commit suicide, how humiliating was that?
If the homeland behind them hadn’t been weak, how could a diplomat have been driven to such an extreme?
Later, when the nation’s diplomats became sharp-tongued and held their own against major powers on the international stage, why were they so assertive? Wasn’t it because the homeland had grown strong?
She sighed, patted him on the shoulder, and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll help you.”
It was only then that she truly realized—Little Tangyuan had become Big Tangyuan, towering over her.
Tang Yuan nodded obediently.
In that moment, Shen Yunyun felt as if the eleven-year-old Little Tangyuan had returned.
She took out all the remaining beef and mutton from her space.
Tang Yuan grabbed her wrist, and Shen Yunyun turned to look at him in confusion.
“If you take out so much, will it affect you in any way?”
“Affect me? What kind of effect?” Shen Yunyun’s eyes widened, puzzled by his question.
Tang Yuan asked, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch. To bring out all this, what do you have to give up? Does it have anything to do with your health or lifespan?”
Shen Yunyun finally understood what he meant and smiled. “No harm done. It’s true that you have to give to receive, but I often take things from you all, don’t I? That’s the bargaining chip.”
“But what you bring is valuable, and what you take is worthless.”
“Then you’d better remember my kindness. Whether it’s valuable or worthless, as long as it’s within the rules, there’s no problem.”
Although Tang Yuan knew she had a trading hub, he wasn’t entirely clear on its rules.
She was a smart person—she wouldn’t risk her own safety.
After Shen Yunyun brought out the beef and mutton, she told Tang Yuan to wait for her there while she gathered more supplies.
Before Tang Yuan could say a word, Shen Yunyun had vanished from sight.